Borderlands: The brothers
by REDemon96
Summary: A pair of mercenary twin brothers are hired to travel to Pandora by of the gov't of the Milky Way Galaxy. Armed with the latest human augmentations, they will make unlikely friends and even more enemies. An adventure filled with action, humor, sorrow, and a little romance, their lives will never be the same. (Story takes place DURING the story of Borderlands 2. Rated M for reasons)
1. Carter

**Author's note** : Hello there, Fanfic Writers and/or Readers. As the title and summary suggests, this will be a borderlands 2 Fanfic that takes place during the events of the story, meaning that some aspects of the story, such as events, small character interactions, etc. will change (But, not to the point where the story is no longer based off a borderlands game, I hope). Well, that's enough out of me, to the Intros.

Name: Carter Angelus

Age: 21

Height:6'1"

Home world: Earth

Imagined voice actor: Johnny Yong Bosch

Bio: Carter and his twin brother, Leon, were born on Earth into a humble family somewhere between the lines of being upper-class citizens and middle-class citizens. However, their family was far from normal, their father held a high ranking position in the Sol Allied Armed Forces (SAAF) and their mother is one of the universes rare Sirens, who uses her spare time to learn about her kind and is the leading scientist on Eridian culture. (More on them [parents] later). When a car accident gravely injured Carter, he required a lung transplant in order to survive, it was on that day that the twins discovered that their bodies possessed an extremely rare mutation, they don't reject benign foreign transplants and possess an enhanced healing factor.

This not only piqued the interest of biologist and doctors in the Sol System, it also inspired Carter to become a doctor in his adult hood. At this point, humans within the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG) were making huge strides in human augmentations such as the use of cybernetics (like cyborgs) or genetic augmentation through the use of gene therapy and genetic alterations. Humans within the MWG possess the most advanced, powerful, and effective augmentations in human controlled space, to the point where every willing citizen has a Direct Neural Interface (DNI). When a terrorist organization attacked a worksite where their mother was unearthing an unknown eridian structure injuring her in the process, Carter and Leon enlisted in the Sol Armed Forces, Carter enlisting for the Genetic Augmentation Unit (GAU) as a doctor/medic and Leon joined the Engineering corps within the Power Armor Unit (PAU). Upon completing the basic training simulation, the brothers were given a more advance and militarized DNI.

Carter also used his body's natural acceptance to become the most genetically enhanced soldier in human history with no side effects, allowing him to perform feats that could only be defined as "super-human", though his brain still places limiters on the body to prevent damage. He can push the limits to his new physical body, but only for a 10 seconds, any longer and his body would damage itself to the point of needing some form of rehab or medical attention such as an insta-health or surgery. Carter is not necessarily proud of his augmentations and is rather modest with his new physical potential, only using his abilities when it's absolutely necessary; or if he's pissed off enough. He practices Iaijutsu in his spare time, after their parents suggested that they take self-defense classes.

 **Carter's "Action Skill":** Limit Break is his ability to temporarily release the natural inhibitors on his body for 10 seconds. This causes his body to become inhumanly strong, fast, and agile. This ability also has the passive effects of slowing down time in his perspective, increasing the rate of his healing factor and further perfecting his sight, allowing him to so clearer, further, and faster than any human. After the 10 seconds are spent, it takes his body a minute (literally, a minute) to recover and heal. (His cooldown).

 **Physical description/wardrobe:** Carter is a male human with white-tan skin, 6'1" tall, blue eyes, greying hair (Genetic from their father.) and a muscular, yet lean, build due to his augmentation. His attire comprises of a pair of black sneaker like lace-less shoes with black socks, he has dark blue khaki like pants with a belt, a black tee-shirt, he wears a coat-like item over his shirt, the coat reaches a little above the knees from the back and a little below the belt in the front with the sleeves only reaching above his elbows. He usually has it unbuttoned and has an attached belt in the front that keeps it on his figure. It is mostly aqua blue with white details.


	2. Leon's Bio

**Author's note** : Hello there, Peeps. This chapter introduces my second character, Leon. Now the story won't be written in this paragraph form, it's only to for my OC bios, when the story actually begins, it will be written in the "conversation-stanza" form, also they may or may not be longer in length. But, that'll be seen next chapter. Now to get this one out of the way to get to the story!

Name: Leonardo "Leon" Angelus

Age: 21

Height: 6 foot

Home World: Earth

Imagined Voice Actor: Vic Mignogna

Bio: Leonardo or "Leon" if you're his friends, is seven minutes younger than Carter, which doesn't bother him, since Carter doesn't rub it in his face. At a young age, Leon has had a knack for technology and has had his time in schools and universities focused toward engineering, after college he was going to enlist in the military, but his plans were accelerated when a terrorist attack injured his mother, which he and his brother took personally. Leon, with his technological interest, joined the Power Armor Division (PAD), when his brother asked him about joining PAD instead of the Cybernetic Soldier Program (CSP), Leon remarked how even though he's very fond of technology, he wouldn't get cybernetics without a vital need such as prosthetics, liking the feel of flesh over metal, this ideal didn't last long.

During a raid on a compound housing terrorist who believe that technology and cybernetics is the answer to human perfection, Leon was captured and had his limbs amputated by General Purpose Infantry Units (G.I. Units) he survived due to his healing factor slowing the bleeding. The terrorist's leader gave orders to interrogate him for information on his mutation. When Leon wouldn't comply, they removed his eyes while he was conscious to see if his healing would prevent him from dying of shock. They also forced him to live in a waking nightmare within his DNI via simulation. The stress of the waking nightmares and dismemberment caused him to contract Marie Antoinette Syndrome, turning his hair white. Three days passed, and the location that Leon was in was Raided by his brother, Carter, upon seeing his brother's condition, Carter called for Leon's evacuation and proceeded to kill all the terrorist within the facility. Upon arriving in the U.S., Leon was being prepped surgery to replace his missing limbs and eyes with cybernetic prosthetics, however when he was contacted in his subconscious via DNI, Leon wanted to have his limbs be replaced with augmentations instead of prosthetics so he could continue his service in the military. At that point, Leon was admitted into the CSP.

After his augmentations, Leon has exceeded all human feats, only equaled by Carter. Due his father being a high ranking officer, Leon was "equipped" with the latest of cybernetic augmentations, allowing the most advanced offensive, defensive, and supplementary mods ever designed. Leon isn't the _most_ augmented human, but he is the most advanced and powerful without sacrificing most of his human physiology and appearance. Leon's mods include, but aren't limited to, a micro-sonic direct weapon in his arm, the ability to turn hostile robots into allies, a three-barreled collapsible chain gun in his right arm and micro thrusters on all of his limbs. Even with super human strength, Leon doesn't like to go into a deadly fight without a weapon of some sort, so he also carries around a pair of twin machetes. Due to their service, Leon and Carter have Combat Exoskeletons on them at all times.

 **Leon's "Action Skill":** Power Armor Suit (PAS): As a sort of "Going away present" from the PAU, Leon was allowed to keep a fully customizable set of Titan-Class Digistruct Power Armor. While active, the suit stands at 8 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and 4 feet from chest to back. At default, the suit is equipped with an underarm mounted chain gun under the right arm, a micro-missile launcher on the right shoulder, and a 105 mm launcher mounted on its left shoulder, serving a dual purpose of an artillery gun and a tank cannon. The armor is also equipped with jetpacks and an invisible spherical shield.

 **Physical description/wardrobe:** Leon is Carter's twin, meaning that he looks exactly like him, with slight natural and artificial differences. For starters, Leon is shorter than Carter, but only by an inch. Leon has a lean-muscular build like his brother, but he's not as "defined" as his brother, due to the lack of muscular augmentation. Due to his injuries, Leon's limbs, eyes, and various other internal organs and systems have been either reinforced or replaced by augmentation. These cybernetics have nearly the same dimensions of measurement as his original body. He can change the color of his cybernetic eyes by will, but usually has them appear red, his favorite color. His hair is white due to him developing Marie Antoinette syndrome. He and his brother also have no hair on their torso, due to augmentations. Leon's casual wear includes black combat boots, dark-grey combat pants with a dark cloth belt and a harness like-item to hold his twin titanium machetes. He wears a grey loss-fitting tank top, covering his torso, but exposing his augmentation.


	3. Wreckage

**Author's note:** This chapter will begin the story itself, starting with the brothers on the train before (almost) everyone, and ending with the train wreck. If you happen to stumble upon this fic, criticism is welcome if it's constructive (wishful thinking), that being said, there has to be something to criticize. To the story.

 **Copyright: The Borderlands franchise and its characters are own and created by Gearbox Software.**

 **The Characters, Carter and Leon, belong to me.**

The brothers heard about Pandora a month ago from the MWG's military leaders, the leaders were interested in the vault and rumors spread about a high amount of siren activity on Pandora and wanted the brothers to investigate.

They stepped on the train to take them to their destination. "Hey, Carter, do you think they'll be other, what did the locals call us…Vault Hunters?" Leon asked out of curiosity.

"Probably, I mean, who knows? Maybe we'll meet another siren, like mom." Carter said, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"3 trillion humans, 6 sirens in existence. I don't think the chances of that are good." Leon remarked, skeptically.

"What about those rumors?"

"Carter, they may be just rumors." At that point, the trained had stopped and the doors opened up and a single person stepped into the train.

The figure was clad in a mostly black jumpsuit, with grey and white on the chest and arms and a black helmet, that had a slick-sweptback visor. He stood at about 6' 4", slender build, and had four fingers…wait-

" _Carter, this guy has only four fingers!"_ Leon noted to his brother mentally via their DNI.

" _So, I've noticed_." Carter thought back with interest. Carter, shifted closer to the figure to introduce himself.

"Hey, I'm Carter, and this is my brother, Leon. What's your name?" Carter asked politely. He was always better with people than Leon, him working in the medical field.

The only response he received was a holographic digital zero appearing in front of the figure's face.

"So, Zero?" His guess was met with a nod. "Ha, I'm good at this." Carter stated happily. "M'yes, it's like a game of charades, excepts the hints aren't as subtle." Leon replied sarcastically.

"You watch it." Carter threatened in a joking tone. Before Carter could ask Zero more questions, the train came to another stop and two men stepped on the train.

One of them was Caucasian, stood at about 5'9", had a fauxhawk, appeared to be pre-middle aged, and had a noticeable scar on his chin and something resembling a metal sergeant rank on his head. He wore tan-green pants, tannish-brown zip up jacket with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of boots with metallic plating on them.

The second man had a Hispanic look to him and was stunted compared to the other man, standing at 5'4", dark hair and dark(tan) skin. He wore simple jeans, boots, a white tee-shirt under an orange shirt with torn sleeves and a Band-Aid on the bridge of his nose.

" _Come. Socialize_." Carter mentally encouraged his brother as he verbally introduced them. Leon gave an inaudible sigh and approached them, then he heard a clattering sound from further back of the train. He looked but, saw nothing, so he dropped it.

The taller man introduced himself first, "I'm Axton." "And I'm Salvador." The shorter man stated with a strong Spanish accent. It was then that Leon noticed that Axton was wearing dog tags with a ring on them.

"Military?" Leon inquired. Axton looked at him and understood what he was saying. "Oh, yeah. Dahl Private Military."

"Us too, but not so much of a private military, more galactic or federal." Leon said. Axton took interest, "Wow, for who?"

"We're both from Sol." Carter chimed in. "Uhh, aren't you guys a bit far from your AO?" Axton asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "It's a long story." The train came to another stop, however a commotion could be heard from outside, something along the lines of screaming but, Leon also heard another clatter like from before. Now he was getting curious.

" _Hey, I'm going to see what's making that sound. Tell me what happens or who gets on when I come back, ok?_ " Leon informed his brother. " _Alright, but don't take too long, I'm sure it's nothing._ " Carter replied.

Leon went to further to the back of the train. He passed a sign that had the face of Hyperion's CEO welcoming vault hunters to Pandora. Three minutes past and he still couldn't find the source of the noise. He decided to use his cybernetic eyes to see if he could see anything animate. His HUD started to highlight strange robots being deployed from the walls and heard combat from the front of the train.

He used the augmentations in his arm to disable the locomotor systems and digistructed a Dahl combat rifle and delivered the "killing" blow to bots. " _Damn! This space is too small to spawn my Power Armor._ " Leon cursed to himself. A loader bot approaching him, to which he used the micro-thrusters on his exosuit to charge at the bot and effortlessly rip out its core and toss it to another group of bots, destroying most of them and temporarily disabling the rest.

He's unload the rest of his rifle on the disabled bots, oblivious to the one charging from behind. When he finally noticed it, he saw a set of digistruct claws rammed through it. He took notice that the claws belonged to a large, legless robot using some type of thrusters to keep itself afloat, but what caught his eye was the person behind it.

He saw a young teenage girl. She stood at about 5'4", had green eyes, and had orange hair tied in two pigtails. She wore sneaker like shoes with black and write stockings running up the entirety of her legs, she also had an adjustable wrench in a holster around her right ankle. She was wearing a red skirt that went halfway down he thighs with a belt and various tools around her waist. She was wearing a button up jean vest with a red tee-shirt with a skull on the chest and the collar of the shirt starting below her collar bone. She had a necklace and a collar(?) around her neck and goggles on her hair and clamps holding her hair in place.

After the floating bot through the loader away, Leon spoke up. "Thanks but, who are-." Leon was cut off when a rather powerful explosion went off, sending the shockwave throughout the train, derailing it. Leon crashed into the wall and blacked out.

-Meanwhile with the others-

Two individuals walked onto the train, a woman and a man. One woman, who instantly introduced herself as Maya, had a light complexion, stood at 5'7", thin but, healthy build, bright eyes, blue lipstick (I think), and blue hair. She wore something like a jumpsuit that had an opening at the top of her breast but showed more of her tattoos than anything else, it also only had a right arm cover, fully exposing her left arm. was yellow on the front and grey and black on the sides. The most noticeable feature on her body was the iconic tattoos that covered the left side of her body, she was as siren.

The man who accompanied her, when approached only replied, "I'M HERE TO SHANK AND SMILE!", to which Maya interpreted as his way of saying hello, or so she guesses. He stood at 6'2" (I'm guessing), had the build of a Greek god, and had a shaved or bald head. He wore boots with metallic toe covers, orange pants with a shin and knee guard on the right leg. He wore no shirt, had some type of harness, a bandage like wrapping on his right arm, and an arm guard on his left forearm. He wore a necklace on his neck and a mask covered all of his face except his left eye, which gave a hint of his emotions and what Carter and Maya saw, a glint of sanity.

At that moment, loaders began emerging from the walls of the cars and the welcome to Pandora sign fell and was replaced with a more menacing "To your doom...Nothing personal!"

Axton threw his sabre turret to the ceiling where it activated and began to engage the loaders in front of him, he pulled out his rocket launcher and fired it down the "hallway". Maya lifted her arms to shield her face from the heat and debris from the blast. A loader approached her but, she effortlessly lifted it up off the ground using her Phaselock ability. She then threw it out of the side of the train.

Salvador came in from the new opening, upon landing, he digistructed two combat rifles and began firing into the crowd of loaders, mowing down where they stood.

Zero stood on top of the train where two engineers pursued him. The one closest two him used his exosuit's large hand to attack him, only for it to faze through him and his image disappear. Just then, Zero appeared from behind the second engineer and stabbed him through the back with his sword. He then jumped over both engineers and drop kicked the one in the front in the other engineer, skewing them both with his sword.

Carter ran out of ammo in his revolver, and resorted to his enhancements and his Iai blade. He digistructed his blade with the sheath still on it, he assumed the Iaijutsu draw position, waiting for an opening. When one opened up, he was quick to act and, in a flash, appeared behind the group of enemies and sheath his blade, the moment the blade locked in the sheath, the soldiers and engineers fell to the ground, dead.

"Psst!" Carter heard from behind him. He turned to see Axton motioning him to come closer, Carter jogged over next to Zero. When they were ready, Axton kicked open the door. What they saw was…unwelcoming. A robotic dummy of the Hyperion CEO was sitting in the chair as it turned towards the Vault Hunters. "It's cute that y'all think you're the heroes of this little adventure, but you're not! Welcome to Pandora, Kiddos!" The explosives surrounding the chair dummy began to beep. Carter used his Limit Break to move the others away from the explosion so they wouldn't be killed by the initial detonation. He was able to get them away from the explosives, but the extensive shockwave pushed them back still yet and derailed the train. After their car hit the ground, Carter surrendered to the fatigue of using his Limit Break and the crash and blacked out.


	4. First Gun

**Author's note** : When it comes to character dialogue, I'll try my best to recreate Zero's haikus and Krieg's insane blurting. I apologize in advance if I don't quite get it. On to the story!

Carter was lying face down in the snow of the arctic landscape, when he began to regain consciousness, he heard a high-pitched, robotic voice. "Great, another dead Vault Hunter." Carter's body shifted as he tried to get up, by the time he was standing, the square-shaped, yellow robot noticed him. "Wait a minute, you're not dead! YES! Now I can get off this glacier! Claptrap, your metaphorical ship has finally come in!"

Carter's wounds began to heal as he took in his surroundings, he saw the other Vault Hunters regain their posture. Krieg helped Maya on her feet as she had a hand on the bottom of her rib cage, Salvador walked over holding his bleeding arm, Axton walked with a slight limp, and Zero didn't have any visible wound. Then he noticed that his brother was missing from the group.

"Allow me to introduce myself – I am a CL4P-TP steward bot, but my friends call me Claptrap! Or they would, if any of them were still alive. Or had existed in the first place!" They listened to Claptraps introduction as it rolled off into the direction of some bodies however, Carter's mind was preoccupied. " _Leon, can you hear me?_ " He mentally called out to his brother.

"Oh –I've got something for you!" The bot was six holding identical items and gave each of them one. "Here – take this ECHO communicator that I totally didn't loot from these corpses! It comes with a class-twelve heads-up-display, complete with a minimap!" Their ECHO's began booting up their bio-diagnostics and HUD. Carter's vitals were normal, he figured it was due to his healing. The other weren't looking to well though.

Claptrap waited for their systems to boot up before speaking again. "Now – come, come, friend. Let's get you inside." "No, I need to find my brother." Carter objected. Maya spoke up with an empathic face. "Carter, it's a miracle that _we_ survived, your brother might not even-."

She was cut off when a loud metallic banging sound could be heard from of the train cars. With the third bang, the door flew off of the car. Carter sighed with relief and smiled. "That's him."

Leon slowly regained his senses, his optics rebooted as his vision returned, he could tell he was still inside the train car. He tried to recall what happened and how he ended up the way he did. He remembered Loaders coming out of the holding ports in the cars and attacking him and the others, how an explosion derailed the train, and him hitting something.

He stood up and gained his bearings. "God, I don't wanna do that again." He then heard a groan inside the car he was in, then he remembered. " _Wait, the girl!_ " He went to the source of the sound and found the same girl from before waking up.

Leon spoke softly but clearly. "Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess. I'm sore all over though." She spoke with a strained, yet feminine voice.

"I'm not surprised, considering we were just in a train wreck."

"Really?! Ugh, that explains so much." She stated with clear annoyance in her voice.

"My name's Leon. What's your name?"

"My name's Gaige. So what now?"

"Well, we get out of this car, for starters."

One end of the car was on top another car, so they had to climb up the car to get out, it would've been a trivial task, but Gaige's body was sore and she had a limp, something Leon took note of. "Need help?" Gaige gave out a reluctant sigh. "yeah." She extended her cybernetic arm, he grabbed it and pulled her up the rest of the way. When they reached the door, it was jammed due to the damage.

"Oh, great. It's stuck." Leon complained.

"Maybe I can help." Gaige made a raising motion with her prosthetic arm, but nothing happened, when Leon looked at her, she had a kind of awkward, dumbstruck look, which he couldn't help but to giggle at.

"Shut up, this never happened before!" Gaige exclaimed angrily.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What were you trying to do?" He asked out of curiosity.

"*sigh* I was trying to call out Deathtrap, but it's not working." She explained, a bit of disappointment in her tone.

"Maybe your arm was damaged. Here, I'll get the door." Gaige moved away from the door, giving him some space.

"So, how are you going to open the door?" Gaige asked with a hint of sass.

"Brute force." He punched the door and put a large dent in it. He punched it again and loosened it from its hinges, he punched it a final time and the door flew out from the car.

Gaige was a taken back by what she saw. "You just punched a door off a train car!" Leon looked at her. "Uh, yeah. It's because of the…uh, exosuit I have." Gaige noticed that he was wearing an exosuit over a long sleeved jacket of some of kind and that he had a pair of tan gloves.

Leon climbed out of the car first and then helped Gaige out. Once they were both out, "TWO MORE FLESHIES JOIN US ON OUR QUEST OF WRATH!" They were startled to say the least; they saw that the source of the screaming came from a rather large man that wore a mask that hid most of his face except for left eye.

"Don't mind him, he's usually like this." They looked to the woman who was speaking.

"Hey Leon, took you long enough." Carter was standing in the snow looking at him with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "Shut up, Carter. I didn't take that long." Leon retorted. He turned to Gaige.

"Can you get down on your own?" Gaige looked down to the ground.

"I don't think so. Could you help me?" She looked to Leon.

"Sure, hang on." He picked her up bridal style then jumped of the car, using the exosuit's thrusters to make the landing as smooth as he could.

"Here – while you were getting down here, I find these ECHO communicators that, I would like to elaborate, did not get off the bodies that surround you!" The little robot that approached them handed them the devices and they began to boot up. "Now that your ECHO device has rebooted, follow me!"

Leon spoke up. "Who's this guy?"

"Uh, his name is Claptrap, he's going to take us to his place." Axton answered.

"By the way Leon, who's your friend?" Carter inquired about the teenage girl Leon was supporting.

"Oh, this is Gaige. She was the one making the sound I heard while we were on the train."

Gaige looked at the group of Vault Hunters. "Hey there." The other introduced themselves as they followed Claptrap through the snowstorm.

"I'm **Carter** , Leon's brother; I'm the Guardian."

"Hey, there. My name's **Axton** ; the Commando."

"My name is **Zero** / and as to my profession/ I'm the Assassin."

" **Salvador** ; I am the Gunzerker."

"I'm **Maya** ; I'm a Siren."

"(Try to introduce us as **Krieg** , and as much as I hate to admit it, we are what they call a psycho.) I'M WAR INCARNATE, AND THE ONE YOU SEE ON THE BOXCOVER! (Close enough…)."

"Oook, I'm **Leon** ; the Cyber-soldier."

"I'm **Gaige** ; the Mechromancer."

All of a sudden an image of a woman appeared on their HUD and a soft voice spoke to them.

"I'll explain everything soon, but know this – you're alive for a reason, and I…am here to help you."

"Who or what was that?" Axton had asked the question that everyone was thinking.

"She might have been the Guardian Angel the stories to

ld about." Maya explained trying to come up with an answer.

Claptrap snapped them out of their thought. "Well done! Your ability to walk short distances without dying will be Handsome Jack's Downfall!" They arrived at a shack or shed of some kind, they came to the conclusion that this was Claptrap's Place. Claptrap rolled to the door. Claptrap: "Whenever you're ready, Minions." Carter: "We're ready- wait minions."

The door scanned Claptrap. "Aaaand open!" The door finished scanning him, it opened and they followed him inside. "Just a little added security. Gotta keep those Bullymongs at bay, or they'll rip your eyes out!"

"Hm, I know what that's like." Leon spoke under his breath and looked down to the ground with pain on his face. Carter enhanced hearing picked up his remark and frowned from the memory. Gaige also heard due to her being next to him, she didn't know much about him, but she knew he had experienced pain in the past.

"By the way, there's some medicine in the lockers if you need any. Can't fight Jack if you're dead!" Claptrap stated with a matter-of-fact tone in his robotic voice. Leon walked Gaige over to the locker, he opened the locker and found a insta-health injection vial. "Now this may sting, but it'll be over in a second." "Alright, I mean, it's clearly not the worst thing I've been through." She claimed as she gestured to her prosthetic arm. Leon injected the vial in her right-upper arm. He watched as most of her wounds healed instantly, hence the name.

"Ahh, much better. Thanks for that, Leon. Now I can walk on my own." They walked into the main room of the shed and spread out to gather and supplies they could get and more Anshin. "Sorry about the mess. Everything Jack kills, he dumps here: bandits, Vault Hunters, Claptrap units… If I sound pleased about this, it's only because my programmers made this my default tone of voice! I'm actually quite depressed!"

"Now, the creatures around here are dangerous, none more than this Bullymong named Knuckle Dragger – killed everyone I know. Any who, I keep a pistol in the cabinet over there for emergencies, but in here we should be pretty safe." Claptrap proclaimed the last part with confidence, though it was short-lived. A loud roar could be heard from above the shack, then a large, four-armed creature climbed from the roof using the exhaust pipe of the furnace. It grabbed Claptrap before anyone could react.

"MY EYE! AAHHH!" Claptrap screamed as his eye was ripped from its port. The creature dropped the bot and climbed up the exhaust pipe. Gaige and Leon walked over to the damaged Claptrap. "Let me see the damage Claptrap, I'm an engineer." Leon looked at the hole where eye once was.

"The gun. The gun in the cabinet." Claptrap spoke with a low weak voice. Their HUD automatically updated with a waypoint system. Zero was closest to the before mentioned cabinet. He opened the cabinet and saw a grey, basic Dahl repeater. He presented the gun to the group.

"Only one." Maya stated, slightly annoyed by the fact.

"How do we decide who gets it?" Axton asked.

"I have an idea. Everyone; show any weapon you may have." Carter suggested. He presented his Iai blade, Zero showed his digistruck sword, Axton his hatchet, Krieg his buzzsaw ax, Salvador flexed his arms, Maya made a fist in her left hand and her tattoos glowed, Leon drew his twin machetes, and Gaige pulled out her hammer with her left arm.

"Maya, Salvador, Gaige; it should be one of you." Carter narrowed the choices.

"I'm a Siren and, even though I'm still a little weak, I still have my powers." Maya stated.

"This planet is _mi casa, amigos_. I can handle these beasts, even with my bare fists." Salvador said with confidence.

"My cybernetic arm can punch through concrete, but it gets damaged, so I use this hammer." Gaige said with modesty.

"I think it should go to Gaige." Leon spoke up. "Who agrees?" Everyone made a gesture of agreement. "Then it's settled." Maya slid the gun to Gaige.

"Wait, do you even know how to use a gun, girly?" Axton stated, sounding a little snarky.

"Yes, I've practiced with my dad every now and then." She retorted in defense of her skill, though she had a hurt expression when she finished her sentence.

Carter sighed "Right then, let's get going." "Apart from the excruciation pain, this is great! I've been waiting for a mighty Vault Hunter to help me reach Sanctuary! I will be your wise leader, and you shall be my fearsome minion! Ahahaha!"

"Now I know why he's called Claptrap." Leon stated to no particular person. Gaige, Maya, and Carter giggled under their breath, but the others were a little confused.

"I don't get it." Axton admitted.

"Claptrap is a noun; it means, absurd or nonsensical talk or ideas." Carter explained. At the realization, Axton blurted out laughing and Salvador chuckled.

All of a sudden, the same female from before appeared on their ECHO HUD.

"Once upon a time, four Vault Hunters changed Pandora forever. But their time has passed – thanks to Handsome Jack. Pandora needs new heroes. I know those heroes are you." And with that, she disconnected just as fast as she connected.

"Great! Just let me get this door open and we'll hunt ourselves a Bullymong." Claptrap proclaimed.

"Onward, seeing-eye minion! Let me know if I'm gonna run into anything."

"Claptra-." Maya tried to warn him, but he already ran into an ice mound. "I'll just assume you didn't see that."

They walked out of the shed, beginning their journey to bring down Handsome Jack and save Pandora.


	5. Combat Experience

**Author's note** : I'll do my best to update as often as I can but, with me being in college, there will undoubtedly be delays. On to the story.

They followed Claptrap outside, weapons in hand, Gaige held the repeater upward, pointed to the shy. "Well, at least you know basic weapon safety." Axton commented on how she held the gun. "Told you. By the way Leon, why are you called the Cyber-soldier?" Gaige turned toward Leon, as did some of the others. "Oh, uh… It's because of my…eyes." He pointed to his eyes as he changed the color of the iris and dilated and contracted the pupils. The others noticed that he was a bit nervous but, didn't push it.

"Even though Knuckle Dragger blindsided me, I know my way around this glacier. I bet ya we'll find my eye in Frostbite Crevasse." Claptrap spoke as he ran into other obstacles along the way. The Vault Hunters gathered more material from the boxes that laid all across the landscape.

"Stick close to the robot – he will help you get off this glacier and into the city of Sanctuary. That is the only place you will be safe." The projection spoke in its instructive tone, before she could disappear, Carter spoke up. "Wait! I don't know if you can hear us but, if you can, tell us who or what you are." Her image was still present, but didn't say anything, then… "Just call me Angel." She replied warmly, then disappeared.

Roaring could be heard from up ahead. "Ahhh, I hear Bullymong, sic' em, minion! PROTECT ME, SQUIRE!" Claptrap commanded and tried to find a hiding spot. Bullymongs jumped from the top of the ice cliff ahead toward the Vault Hunters. Krieg ran toward the mob screaming nonsense with his buzzsaw drawn, Axton Flanked the group from the right and Zero flanked from the left. Maya and Salvador backed up considering that they had only their bare hands and natural abilities, Carter leaped forward with his Iai blade at the ready in case he is approached, Leon grabbed Gaige and thrusted backwards a safe distance from the battle then drew his machetes. "Shoot them when you get a clear shot." Leon instructed her. She nodded as a sign of understanding.

Krieg stuck Bullymong in the left side of its neck, Axton dodged the swing of a Bullymong's fist then swung his hatchet at the back of its head, killing it, Zero sidestepped the third and plunged his sword into its side, puncturing multiple vital organs, he pulled his blade out and it fell dead. Two Bullymongs busted through a thin ice wall that blocked their path.

"OPEN YOUR VEINS FOR ME MY PRETTIES!" Krieg shouted as he charged the two. Zero also confronted the creatures. Krieg swung his saw at them but they both dodged it, while they were distracted, Zero decapitated one of them. Before the other could attack Krieg, a burst of pops rang through the air, Krieg watched it bled from two holes in its body. He finished it off with a swing to its head. Everyone glanced at Gaige.

"Good shot, kid." Axton complemented her.

"You alright?" Maya asked with sincerity.

"Yeah, I'm ok. After all, It's for survival, right?" Gaige said with a slightly shaky voice. The others moved on.

"Let's go! If we don't get my eye back, we'll never get to Sanctuary!" Claptrap emerged from his hiding spot.

"First kill?" Leon asked as he approached Gaige.

"Erm, not really." Gaige said quietly. "It's not as easy as I thought it would, but it's bearable."

"It's alright if it isn't easy; especially if it's with people, it just means you're a normal human." Leon comforted.

"Really?" She looked at him as he nodded. "Thanks." "No problem."

The ground shook violently as pieces of ice fell from the walls. Claptrap groaned. "AGAIN?! Jack's tearing Pandora apart to find Vault. They say Jack's drilling operations are causing these earthquakes. That, or your mom just got out of bed. ZING!" Krieg, Zero, and Salvador had no reaction to the joke. Axton gave a slight chuckle while everyone else some form of annoyance such as eye rolling, quiet groans, so on.

"You'll need that funny robot's help to reach Sanctuary, the last bastion of the resistance against Jack, and the only place you will be truly safe. Get to Sanctuary." Angel chimed in as stray Bullymongs came out of their dens to confront the Vault Hunters. Krieg ran towards them as usual, the others resumed their positions from last time, this time around, Carter approached the mob, intent on combat. "I'm not missing out this time!" A Bullymong jumped over the others and approached Carter, as it raised its fist, Carter quick stepped toward the beast and slashed through its side, killing it. A trio of Bullymongs ran past him as he was confronted by another. "OH YEAH! VAMONOS, PUTAS!" Salvador yelled with excitement. "Big mistake." Maya stated as she dodged the Bullymong's attacks then used abilities to deliver some Siren powered strikes to the Bullymong's pressure points, Gaige was unloading the gun on the mob of beasts, but one managed to slip by everyone else. As it approached her, Leon stepped between her and the Bullymong as she reloaded "You'll have to get through me first." Leon challenged with a serious albeit cocky voice. The beast roared then jumped at him. Leon jumped up over and landed behind it, before it could retaliate, Leon shoved his machetes in between its neck and collar bone on each side of its head. He pulled out his blades and the blood squirted out of its body. He stomped on its head, crushing it.

"Thanks for that." Gaige nodded toward Leon.

"Any time." Leon nodded back.

"Hey! What's that noise? Are you fighting?" Claptrap yelled with a muffled voice as he was stuck "head first" in the snow. When the last Bullymong fell, everyone regrouped to check on each other.

"Great! Now get me outta here before more Bullymongs arrive." Claptrap exclaimed.

"Here, let me get ya." Carter walked over to him and pulled him out of the snow.

"Many thanks, friend of friends!" Claptrap rolled off into the general direction of their destination. Just then, new voice coined in on their ECHO log.

"Hey, Kiddo. Jack here – President of Hyperion. Lemme explain how things work here: Vault Hunters shows up, Vault Hunter looks for new the Vault, Vault Hunter gets killed. By me. Seeing the problem here? You're still alive. So, if you could just do me a favor and off yourself, that'd be great. Thank, pumpkin." *Signed off*

"Yeah, we'll get right on that." Carter sarcastically commented.

"Oh! My eye just switched back on! I see some tough-looking minion, and an incredibly handsome robot. Which means that whoever has my eye…is very close." Claptrap brought up to the Vault Hunters, saying the last part full of fear. A large Bullymong hopped on a supply container and scanned the area. Once it saw the Vault Hunters, it jumped off the container toward a trashed runner. It was Knuckle Dragger and it was angry. "This is gonna hurt." Axton mumbled under his breath.

It threw the car and it exploded once it hit the ground. He (I'm assuming it's male) landed shortly after and howled at the Vault Hunters. Krieg charged towards him, but it redirected his swings and then punched Krieg in his abdomen and was knocked back by him. Zero and Axton made small cuts into its arms then had to jump back to avoid getting hit. It jumped up on the cliff as Gaige began shooting it, since she now had a clear shot. Then Claptrap screamed.

"Oh God! They're coming outta the wall-sphincters!" "Wait, what?" Bullymongs began to come out of the walls. "Gaige, keep shooting Knuckle Dragger when he's out of our range, then shot the smaller ones as they emerge from the walls when we can hit him. Leon, Salvador, and I will be your defense, everyone else will attack Knuckle Dragger in he comes back down and little ones in the mean time!" Maya commanded her strategy. Everyone gave some sign of agreement and executed her plan. "LET THE BLOOD SHOWER BEGIN!" Was the only thing Krieg said as he rushed toward the emerging mob.

Some Bullymongs flanked around their front and went for the others. Maya tried to use her Phaselock, but was only able to catch a pup. "Maybe, I haven't recovered as much as I thought." Maya complained to herself. Salvador broke the leg then neck of one that lunged at him. Leon slashed at another and slit its throat. "He's coming down!" Gaige informed the others as he landed. It threw an ice boulder at Gaige as she annoyed it with her gun. Leon jumped in the way and jumped in the way of it and took the full blow. He landed on his back and slid for a few feet. "Leon, you alright?" Gaige asked concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Gaige reloaded and shot a Bullymong Brat that lunged at Salvador and it landed at his feet, dead. "Gracias, Amiga!" Salvador thanked her as he ran to Knuckle Dragger as he was the last Bullymong. As he approached it, he leapt in the air and punched it on its forehead, stunning it. Carter and Zero nodded at each other as they ran past the dazed beast, they ran up the ice wall behind it, they ran up ten feet before jumping off toward Knuckle Dragger with their swords at the ready. As soon as they were in range, they drew their blades and decapitated him, when they landed their blades were crossed like scissors. Carter sheathed his blade and Zero undigistructed (I don't know a better way to word it.) his blade. "This is excellent/you are a worthy ally/I thank you, Carter." Zero complimented Carter on his swordsmanship. "And I you." Carter returned the treatment.

"Woohoo! If you would retrieve my eye for me. Oh, and I apologize for saying 'wall sphincters.' I say that a lot when I'm frightened." Claptrap explained to the Vault Hunters. "Here, I got it. Hey, a revolver!" Axton exclaimed as he grabbed the eye and the gun. He looked back at the others then sighed. "Here, you two." He tossed the eye toward Leon and Gaige. "And you should have the gun Maya; being the next most unarmed." He handed the revolver to Maya. "Thanks Axton."

"Got my eye? Great! Now we just gotta find someone to put it back into me. Mush as I'm sure you'd like to jam your fist into my skull, optic surgery is best left to professionals – my pal Hammerlock in Liar's Berg can fix me up! Allons-y!" Claptrap gave as instruction. Gaige and Leon felt a bit neglected and ignored, but humored him anyways. They approached a reinforced door to a barge. Claptrap spoke up. "Liar's Berg's on the other side of this Hyperion barge. What say we cut through it, chum!" He rolled over to the door. "Ha! This door's Hyperion tech – child's play! Aaaaaand OPEN!" The door scanned Claptrap, then…

"Intruder detected. Locking door." The mechanical voice spoke as bar like locks come together. Everyone looked at Claptrap with annoyance, even Zero had a (_) projected in front of his face. Claptrap hesitated, then turned around.

"Well, it was nice knowing ya! I hear getting eaten alive by Bullymongs isn't such a bad way to go." Leon groaned as he was about to take off his glove and then Angel chimed in. "Lemme get that for ya. Executing Phaseshift." The barge door unlocked and opened in front of them. "Now I know why you're called 'Angel.'" Carter complimented as a thank you. "You're welcome." She replied warmly. "Perks of being an Artificial Intelligence. I'm networked into almost everything on this planet. It's a long way to Sanctuary – please take whatever you need for the journey ahead." They all began opening boxes. Salvador opened the big box in the middle of the barge. "Oh yeah! A shotgun!" Salvador grabbed it, checking its specs. "Good, now no one is unarmed. This planet just got less deadly." Leon commented on their current situation.

"Let's go Claptrap." Maya commanded the bot. "Alright minion, to Liar's Berg!" The barge door opened up and reveal a path leading to Liar's Berg.


	6. Liar's Berg

**Author's note** : God, college is torture! Anyways, just as a thing for my story; much like in the games the New-U's won't be canon or present. Reviews and criticism is welcome (even if it does seem harsh, so long as it's constructive.) On to the story.

They walked out of the barge in in the Southern Shelf. Claptrap called them over, they began walking over to him, then Leon tripped on something.

*Trips and lands face first in snow* "Crud." Was the only response that Leon could give.

"You're not the most majestic person, are ya'?" Axton commented as he chuckled.

*Picks self-up* "Shut up, what'd I trip on anyway?"

"You tripped on this, amigo." Salvador picked up a frozen severed hand holding something.

"Makes you wonder where the rest of 'em is." Maya chimed in.

"Wait, what's that it's holding?" Leon walked over and pried the USB like object out of its frozen fingers. Leon plugged the USB into his ECHO device. "Hey, this thing still has some equipment!" Everyone was immediately interested.

"What kind of equipment?" Carter inquired.

"Let's see; A Vladof looking Combat Rifle, A Hyperion looking SMG, a Jakobs Sniper Rifle, and weaponized fireworks, all of which is made by a company named…Gearbox?" Leon described the weapons, adding emphasis when he said the name of the manufacturer.

"Who's Gearbox?" Gaige asked, clearly curious as to their wide range of weaponry.

"I dunno', but this guy won't be needing it anymore." Leon stated as he digistructed the items and laid them out.

"Dibs on the Combat Rifle!" Axton blurted out, believing it to be appropriate way to claim things.

"Ok, Combat Rifle for Axton. Zero, do you want the Sniper Rifle?" Leon presented the rifle to him.

"Sure." Zero grabbed the rifle from Leon's.

"Would it be alright if I traded this revolver for the SMG?" Maya asked Leon, he thought it over, then nodded. She laid down the revolver then grabbed the SMG.

"Carter, I'll assume you'll want the revolver? Leon asked his brother, already knowing the answer.

"You know it." Carter simply replied as he grabbed the revolver.

"And I'll take the 'grenade mod'." Leon grabbed the grenade mod and equipped it.

"Keep your wits about you, minion – this glacier's run by a bandit named Captain Flynt. The jerk kept me as his torture plaything for a few months. We played games like 'dodge the blowtorch', and 'don't get dunked into the pool of acid.' I was really good at the first one." Claptrap explained about the local bandits, then…

"Attention, people of Pandora! Handsome Jack here, offering eight million bucks to whomever brings me the heads of the Vault Hunters who just arrived in Liar's Berg. One million for each head. Oh, and I'm still offering a reward for Roland, the mass-murdering leader of the Crimson Raiders. Good hunting."

"A million-dollar bounty, just for surviving a train wreck." Carter complained

Before they entered Liar's Berg, the Vault Hunters effortlessly killed the Bullymongs who tried to attack them. Vault Hunters and bring 'em to me! NOW!" Captain Flynt ordered via ECHO.

"Do the ECHO's in this galaxy not have multiple channels?" Leon asked wondering how there could be so much chatter.

"Not Really." Gaige answered.

"Hey, Hammerlock!" Claptrap called out.

"Spectacular—first Captain Flynt's bandits attack, then Claptrap shows up! I must have been horrifyingly cruel to puppies in a previous life to deserve this kind of treatment. I say, Vault Hunter – could you kill Flynt's men for me?"

Hammerlock requested them for help as the gate began to rise.

Zero went up to the cliffs that faced Liar's Berg. Axton crouched a few meters away from the gate. Krieg, Gaige, Maya lined up on the left side of the gate with Maya aiming her gun around the corner. Leon, Salvador, and Carter did the same on the opposite wall with Carter aiming around the corner. When the gate fell, the bandits began firing at the Vault Hunters, some of them already dead by Zero's rifle shots, Axton fired his rifle at the closest bandits while Maya and Carter shot any they could see. They stormed the compound with Zero staying at the cliffs and Krieg running straight down the middle.

Flynt: "Got a proposition for ya, Vault Hunter. You give up, we'll just shoot ya in the head. It'll be quick, clean, and a hell of a lot less painful than what Handsome Jack'll do to ya."

Krieg slashed one bandit down the middle, cutting his head in two but, not decapitating him. Zero shot one bandit in the head and Carter shot a bandit in both his legs then shot him in the head, emptying his gun.

"Will you take that as a 'no'?" Carter responded to Flynt's deal.

"What is WRONG with you boys?! Just kill those skaglicks so's we can get our reward!" Flynt shouted over the ECHO.

More bandits emerged from the houses and began firing at the Vault Hunters. Zero popped the head off of one bandit, Maya riddled another with bullets, and Gaige shot two bursts at another, one hitting the torso and the other hitting the neck and head. Gaige let out a heavy sigh as she saw the blood stop squirting from his neck.

"Oh no – BULLYMONGS!" Claptrap yelled as bullymongs emerged from their icy homes and approached the "village". One Bullymong punched a bandit and he crashed into a wall. Zero shot one Bullymong in the head as Salvador fired a buckshot into the head of another. Axton unloaded his gun into the last bandit. "DAMMIT! This ain't over, grinder." Flynt screamed before disconnecting.

"Well, that was fun." Leon stated as Zero rejoined them.

"Not a challenge but/The enemy has fallen/We have all done well." Zero complimented the rest of the party.

"Hey, Hammerlock! Since my minion just saved your town, you wanna do your bestie Claptrap a favor and repair my eye?!" Claptrap called out to Hammerlock once again.

*Sigh* "Yes, I suppose I am in your debt now, aren't I? come to my shack, and I shall restore Claptrap's sight. First, I shall shut off the electrical fence for you. Please stay back, Vault Hunter – let Claptrap go first." Hammerlock responded over the ECHO.

"See, minion? Hammerlock and I are like two peas in a pod, two bullets in a mag, two cannibal midgets eatin-." Claptrap was cut off as he touched the fence and was electrocuted.

"Apologies, but when Claptrap speaks, I fell my brain cells committing suicide, one by one. I shall be out directly." The door of the house inside the walled off compound opened up and a man wearing safari like attire with prosthetic right limbs marched out of the door then saluted the Vault Hunters. "A pleasure to meet you, Vault Hunter. I am Sir Hammerlock. At your service." He dropped his salute then approached the Vault Hunters.

"I came out here to research the Bullymongs for my almanac, but Captain Flynt's men trapped me on this glacier. Many thanks for disposing of them, by the way – to survive a direct run-in with Handsome Jack AND defeat Captain Flynt's bandits? Unheard of. I'm headed to Sanctuary, myself – from what I hear, the Crimson Raiders there could use a hero like you." Hammerlock explained his situation and his intentions. "Now, if you could hand me the robot's eye, please." He extended his hand as Gaige handed it to him. "Oh, so you too have a prosthetic, it's quite interesting, would you mind if I looked at it some? I could help with some of the damage." Hammerlock commented on Gaige's arm. "Oh, a sure. I could use the tools." Gaige accepted his request. Leon gave a silent grumble then heard coughing. He turned around and saw the bandit who was hit by a Bullymong. He was sitting against the wall he hit, bleeding from the nose and mouth.

"I'm going to go put him out of his misery." Leon walked over to the bandit, everyone else watched Hammerlock put the eye back into Claptrap. "Now, I need only connect this to this, and…" He reconnected wires then screwed his eye in before pounding it in. "That should do it." Hammerlock stated as Claptrap sprung up. "Ha-HA! I am ALIIIIIVE!" Hammerlock placed his right hand on his face. "Oh, dear. He's talking again." Gaige spoke up. "What?! Leon and right could have done that." She was a little upset that they went through the trouble to do something that they could have done. "Minion! Now I've got eyesight back—and you're far ug-!" "OH SHIT!" They heard Leon shout from behind them as an explosion went off, kicking up snow, ice and blood. Leon's body came to a stop as he slid for a few feet. His limbs twitched and he was covered in blood and other parts.

"LEON! Gaige called for him as they ran to him. Carter checked his vitals; he felt a pulse and saw him breathing, he also saw that he had a piece of shrapnel in his chest and was bleeding lightly from smaller wounds and burns that had already began to heal.

Carter: "Hammerlock, do you have medical supplies in your house?"

Hammerlock: "Yes, I'll go get them."

Carter: "No, clear a table and leave out the medicine for me. Axton and Salvador, make sure everyone else is dead."

Axton: "Got it."

Salvador: "Right."

Carter: "Does, anyone else have medical training?"

Maya: "I know a bit."

Carter: "Good, I'd like your help if I need it."

Gaige: "What about me? What can I do?"

Carter: "I'll need you later, but for now, you, Zero, and Krieg can clear the houses."

Carter: "Exosuit, eject from pilot; Leon Angelus!"

The exoskeletal-suit ejected from Leon's body and laid on the ground. Carter picked up his brother and carried him into the house. He laid him on a table and took a pair of shears that came with the first aid kit and cut his jacket and shirt off as well as cutting his pants so he could check for damage. Carter injected an insta-health into Leon's chest where his heart was so the liquid would flow through his veins faster. Maya was surprised to see what Leon was hiding.

Maya: "Most of his body is cybernetic."

Carter: *Sigh* "Yeah, it's a long story, he's not proud of it."

Maya remained silent and waited for instruction from Carter if need be. Everyone else finished their giving tasks and regrouped at the gateway of the compound. "Well, everyone's definitely dead." Axton reported, his voice filled with glum. "The houses are emptied too." Gaige reported, with more glumly than Axton as she walked over to where the explosion occurred. "What do you think happened?" Salvador questioned. Axton looked at the explosion sight as Gaige walked to where Leon's Exosuit was laying. Axton began to talk. "Well…"

 _ **Leon's side of the event**_.

Leon drew one of his blades as he walked over to the dying banding, intending to end his suffering. When he got close enough…

Leon: "I'll kill hundreds of you if I must but, I'm not the type of person to let people suffer, so I'll go ahead and do you a favor. Any last words?"

Bandit: *Coughs up blood* "Do you think you're the worst thing on this planet?"

Leon: "I may not be the evilest thing on the planet, but I will tear you apart, you can count on that."

Bandit: *Coughs up more blood* "In that case, I'll take you with me." Leon stabs him in the chest, killing him.

Leon: "Good luck with that." Leon took his blade out of the bandit, then sheathed his blade. Then he heard beeping. He looked around and noticed that the beeping was accelerating and coming from behind the bandit. He moved his body and saw three armed grenades.

"OH, SHIT!" Was all Leon could say as he thrusted back away the body as the grenades detonated. The shrapnel from the grenades punctured his body, the shockwave and landing shook his brain, and the bandits "remains" covered him.

The last thing he could hear before losing consciousness was a feminine voice calling his name.


	7. End of day One on Pandora

**Author's note:** I should probably clarify, see, the exosuits that Leon and Carter have are based off of the exosuits featured in COD: Advanced Warfare and Leon's augmentations resemble the ones in the Deus Ex series. That being said, these pieces of technology, including the DNI's, are based off of real life experiments and the only thing I based off of the before mentioned titles are the basic designs and such, so it's not a copyright problem. Now that that's out of the way, to the story.

 _ **Back to the other Vault Hunters**_

"It's a legitimate strategy, but…" Axton finished his explanation. He noticed Gaige's mood as she picked up Leon's bloodied frame-like exosuit. Axton walked over to her and saw that tears were running down her cheek. He placed a hand on her shoulder, she looked up at him, her eyes were watering and more tears fell. "Hey, I'm sure he'll be alright. He's a fighter, I know it." She wiped her eyes and cheeks. "Do you really think so?" She asked, with a shred of hope in her tone. "I know so, after all, he said he's a soldier, right? Well, they are some tough dudes, especially from Earth. Before Gaige could say anything else, Maya came out. "Hey, he's stable now. Carter said you can come visit."

Axton stood up. "Come on, let's go visit him." Axton helped Gaige onto her feet with her still carrying Leon's exosuit. They walked into the house and saw Leon resting on the table with a towel laid over his waist for the sake of decency. Everyone with the exception of Maya, Hammerlock, and Carter had an expression of shock on their faces. They saw that all of his external wounds have healed and that a large portion of Leon's body was cybernetic in nature. Gaige was the first to speak. "What's with all those prosthetics?" "They look more like augmentation." Axton noted.

"Long story short; he was in the military, he was wounded, captured, then tortured, we rescued him, he received augmentations to serve as prosthetic so he could go into mercenary work." Carter explained.

Maya: "So, every piece of cybernetics he has is to repair or replace an injured body part."

Carter: "Limbs, organs, bones, you name it. Most of it is for repairing or enforcing instead of replacing."

Axton: "How did it happen?"

Carter paused: "I don't know if he would be comfortable with me sharing that."

Maya: "We understand."

Gaige: "Can you tell us why would he hide this from us?"

Carter: "Where we come from, Augs. (augmented people) aren't really persecuted, however, because of our line of work, his specific augmentations, and a certain terrorist group making a bad name for augs., some people viewed him as a warmonger or a potential terrorist."

Gaige: "That's awful."

Carter: "Yeah, it's getting late, we should get some rest."

Axton: "What about Leon?"

Carter: "He's fine, he just took some force to the head. He should be awake in the morning."

Zero: "Or now."

Everyone looked at Leon, who was beginning to stir. He moaned as he became animate and sat up. "Ow, where am I?" Leon finally spoke in a groggy voice. "You're in Hammerlocks house, there was an armed explosive on one of the bodies. Now, your external wounds have healed, but I want you to take it easy so I can check on everything else." Carter answered. He rubbed his head and tried to remove the fatigue and gunk from his eyes. That's when he noticed that his cybernetics were exposed.

Carter: "Are you alright?"

Leon: "My head hurts and I'm sore all over but, other than that I'm fine."

Carter: "That's good to hear."

Leon: "So I guess y'all know about me then, huh?"

All: *Assorted gestures of affirmation*

Carter: "I told them why you hid your augmentations, sorry."

Leon: "It's alright. Are you guys are alright with this?"

Maya: "As far as we're concerned, you're just like the rest of us."

Leon: "Ha, well thanks."

Axton: "No problem."

Leon: *Rubs eyes* "I could use some sleep."

Axton: "But, you were just sleeping."

Carter: "There's a difference between sleeping and healing."

Axton: "That's true, we secured the other houses and they have enough beds for each us."

Carter: "How many beds?"

Axton: "Eight; four in each of the houses that have one."

Leon: "What a convenient coincidence."

Everyone waited outside so Leon could get dressed. About a minute passed before Leon stepped outside. He was wearing a pair of tan combat boots, a dark-grey pair of khaki like pants, and a grey, loose fitting polyester tank-top that dropped just below his belt, the collar hugged the base of his neck, leaving his arms fully visible from the shoulder down.

Gaige: "Hey Leon."

Leon: "Hey Gaige."

Maya: "I'll admit that that's a good look for you, though I'm not sure it's cold oriented."

Carter: "Look who's talking."

Leon: "My augmentations don't feel harsh temperature changes and they maintain my body temperature."

Gaige: "Really? Now that's pretty cool."

Leon: *lightly blushes* "Uh, thanks."

Carter: "So let's discuss about the sleeping arrangements."

Maya: "Well, me and Gaige should at least sleep in one of the houses together, being the only women."

Gaige: "I'm good with that."

Axton: "Then that means that two of us guys has to share a house with you." Axton said in a flirty tone.

Maya & Gaige: "Carter and Leon." Without hesitation.

Axton: "Why them?"

Gaige: "They seem like the most gentlemen-like, so we don't have to worry about anything."

Maya: "Plus, with Leon in his current state, it's best not to separate him from the healers; Me and Carter."

Carter: "Aww, I'm flattered."

Leon: "I'm fine with that."

The Vault Hunters separated into their respective groups and entered the houses. Once inside, Gaige was the first to comment on their living situation. "Ugh, it stinks in here." "Well, that's to be expected when the previous owners were low-lifes." Maya chimed in. "I've slept in worse." Leon added. "Well, we have to make due. Sorry guys." Carter apologized. "Well it's better than nothing." Gaige said, trying to put things into perspective. They found two sets of bunk beds, Gaige and Maya took one with Maya on the bottom and Gaige on top, while Carter and Leon took the other, with Carter on the bottom and Leon on top. Once they laid down and got settled, Gaige spoke.

"Hey, we're going to be ok, right?" Leon looked at her and gave a reassuring smile. "Of course we will. I mean you got: two Earth mercenaries, an ex-Dahl commando, a Siren, a ninja as far as I know, a scary yet friendly psycho, a Pandoran native (need I say more), and you." Carter chimed in. "Speaking of Sirens; HA! In your face, Leon. What did you say on the train, 'The chances of meeting a Siren are zero.'? Welp, boom! In comes Maya." "Well Carter, mathematically speaking…" The girls looked at then gave each other amused smiles to the brotherly bickering. Maya chuckle, "Alright, you two. We should get some rest." Gaige giggled "Yeah, who knows what tomorrow is gonna be like. Goodnight everyone." Everyone answered with a goodnight. Leon looked up at the ceiling and thought about the events of that day and about the friends he had made, especially Gaige. She was the last thing he thought about before his HUD dimmed and fell asleep.


End file.
